San Rafael, CA – Two improvement projects are underway in Marin City, the unincorporated community located between Tamalpais Valley and Sausalito. One project will enhance pedestrian lighting on Donahue Street/North Bridge Boulevard at the Highway 101 undercrossing. Another project, which will break ground this spring, will install 14 pedestrian accessibility ramps along Drake Avenue.
A construction crew works on Drake Avenue in Marin City. When these two projects are completed, the number of transportation improvement projects in Marin City rises to five over the past year.
The construction contract recently was awarded to install lights along the Donahue Street/North Bridge Boulevard highway undercrossing. The wall-mounted luminaires were selected based upon a lighting study and community input. They are designed to improve safety for pedestrians as well as bicyclists, who are also allowed to use the sidewalk. The old lighting system will be replaced with new fixtures, conduits and wiring, providing significantly improved visibility for travelers around the clock.
The project, handled by DC Electric Group, is estimated to cost $108,000 and will be funded by Measure A’s Safe Pathway to School fund and Marin County’s Road and Bridge Rehabilitation Fund. Construction is expected to begin in mid-March and the work is anticipated to take six to eight weeks.
Starting in April, 14 pedestrian accessibility ramps will be installed along Drake Avenue in Marin City. The work, which is expected to take a little over a month to complete, will address the intersections of Phillips Drive, Pacheco Street, Eureka Street and Terrace Drive. The sidewalk ramps will be brought up to the most recent accessibility compliance standards and crosswalks will receive updated markings as well as other related accessibility improvements.
The Marin County Department of Public Works (DPW) engineers’ estimate for the sidewalk ramps is $160,000, and County is reviewing competitive contractor bids. Funding will come from County’s Disability Access Program fund. There are no anticipated traffic detours or lane closures associated with the planned work.
Two projects on Donahue Street were completed during 2017. The first project rehabilitated a deteriorated, half-mile section of Donahue Street from Drake Avenue, near the Marin City Library, to Bridgeway Boulevard at the Highway 101 onramp. The stretch of roadway, which includes North Bridge Boulevard, is heavily used by residents and commuters as well as a variety of public transportation services. Construction took place during the summer months and carried a cost of $1.34 million, of which 72 percent was covered by a One Bay Area grant. The remaining 28 percent came from the County’s Road and Bridge Rehabilitation Fund.
The second paving project conducted on Donahue Street addressed the heavily worn cul-de-sac where the street ends at a Marin County open space entry area. The 10,500-square-foot cul-de-sac is used daily by public transit buses as a turnaround location. The repaving was completed during the month of December and the cost $149,000. Golden Gate Transit provided 40 percent of the expense and the remainder was covered by the County’s Road and Bridge Rehabilitation Fund.
The fifth improvement project was the installation of two traffic beacons near Marin County Fire Department’s Marin City station, located at 850 Drake Avenue, next to Rocky Graham Park. The pole-mounted, flashing beacons were installed in August and designed to improve safety for both fire fighters and the public by warning traffic flow of fire station vehicle activity. DPW contracted DC Electric Group to handle the $31,000 project, which was funded by the County’s Capital Improvement fund.